- Trump Calls $50 Million Contract for Ex-Lawyer Habba Mildon “Not Acceptable”
Source: US News & World Report
“President Donald Trump said on Saturday it was ‘unacceptable’ for one of his former lawyers, Alina Habba Mildon, to secure a $50 million contract for herself while working at the US Department of Justice. … the family of Julio Herrera Velutini, a Venezuelan banker facing US felony bribery charges before striking a plea deal in August 2025, guaranteed Habba Mildon more than $50 million over four years. The deal, according to the newspaper, would pay $10 million a year plus bonuses. … Habba Mildon was serving as the acting US attorney in New Jersey when she signed the contract with Herrera’s family company, Concord Partners, days after it was registered in late October 2025, the New York Times reported.” (10/31/26)
- Turkey: Regime moves Kurdish militant leader as part of peace process
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Turkey has moved the country’s Kurdish militant leader to a newly built part of an island prison where he has been incarcerated since 1999 as part of efforts to end decades of conflict, a senior Kurdish official said. Improving prison conditions for Abdullah Ocalan, who heads the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has been a key Kurdish demand in the push to end the 42-year-long conflict between the militant group and Turkish authorities. Ocalan has been imprisoned in a penitentiary on the island of Imrali in the Marmara Sea – which links the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea – since he was captured in 1999.” (11/01/26)
- Judge orders DOJ to stop threatening to prosecute election officials
Source: Politico
“A federal judge on Friday ordered the Justice Department to stop threatening state and local election officials with criminal prosecution over their handling of disputes about voter qualifications. U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson also ordered the Trump administration to cease demanding that election workers remove voters from statewide rolls, refuse to issue ballots to specific voters or segregate ballots cast in the midterms based on the administration’s claims that some voters are ineligible.” (10/31/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/31/justice-department-election-officials-threats-ruling
- Germany: Shops looted as cost-of-living protests turn violent
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Rioters looted shops in central Frankfurt late on Saturday as clashes erupted in German cities over the cost of living. Besides Frankfurt – Germany’s financial hub – there were incidents of violence in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg, with police saying they used water cannon to disperse protesters who were targeting emergency workers with fireworks, stones and bottles. … Overnight, a large section of Frankfurt’s main shopping street was closed off by police. A police spokesperson said many arrests were made in the city.” (11/01/26)
- Binance resumes crypto withdrawals after major hack blamed on North Korea
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Binance said Sunday that it had resumed withdrawals after a major hack that affected more than $6 billion in funds. Binance, which is the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes, had suspended user withdrawals after the attack. … The FBI accused North Korea of being behind the attack on Saturday, confirming earlier suspicions from private investigators and analysts that a Pyongyang-affiliated group called TraderTraitor was behind the hack.” (11/01/26)
https://www.france24.com/en/business/20261101-binance-says-resuming-withdrawals-after-major-hack
- CT: US Senator suffers stroke at son’s hockey game
Source: New York Post
“Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke at his son’s hockey game, his office said Sunday. The Democrat, 53, felt numbness in his arm during the game Saturday and was rushed to a local hospital. He was later moved to Johns Hopkins in Maryland, where he is ‘awake and alert,’ according to chief of staff Allison Herwitt. … Murphy — a rumored 2028 presidential contender — isn’t up for reelection until 2030, but had been crisscrossing the country stumping for midterm candidates, with visits to Michigan, Minnesota and Florida in recent weeks.” (11/01/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/11/01/us-news/outspoken-dem-sen-chris-murphy-suffers-stroke-in-front-of-son/
- “Pop-up” super PACs pour $637 million into 2026 midterm races
Source: CNBC
“Late-forming super PAC spending has surged in 2026. Twenty-two groups created in the final 10 weeks before Election Day have each spent at least $1 million on congressional races, totaling about $637 million, according to a CNBC analysis of FEC filings. That accounts for about one-sixth of independent expenditures in 2026 congressional races, CNBC found. Federal disclosure rules can leave voters in the dark about who is paying for the ads. Super PACs must rapidly report their spending, but donor disclosures can come weeks later — and, for the latest-forming groups, after Election Day.” (10/31/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/31/2026-midterm-election-super-pacs-donor-disclosure.html
- Russian strikes cut power to thousands in Ukraine as Kherson ceasefire ends
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A rare humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine’s front-line Kherson region that allowed civilians to evacuate the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky has ended. The localised ceasefire was due to end at 22:59 Ukrainian time (21:00 GMT) on Sunday. While the truce had held since it was implemented last week, fighting had continued elsewhere. On Sunday evening, Ukraine’s air alert system was apparently hacked, the country’s air force said, warning of radiation over Kyiv – a reference to a possible nuclear attack. … Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had struck energy infrastructure in four regions overnight on Saturday, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power. Some connections were restored on Sunday.” (11/01/26)
- Palestine: At least eight Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“At least eight Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza, hospital sources told Al Jazeera. An Israeli drone attack killed five people and wounded several others in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza on Sunday. In northern Gaza, at least three Palestinians, including a four-year-old boy, were killed in a drone attack on Gaza City’s Rimal neighbourhood, sources at al-Shifa Hospital said. The Taj Mall was also targeted. Another person died on Sunday from wounds sustained during a previous attack.” (11/01/26)
- FL: Nine dead after private jet crashes near Mar-a-Lago
Source: Fox News
“All nine people on board a private jet that crashed around nine miles from President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach County, Florida are dead. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shared the update Sunday afternoon, calling the incident a ‘horrific tragedy.’ … The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the Learjet 60 crashed in a residential area near Cresthaven, Florida, around 12:50 p.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1. … The fiery crash was captured on dashcam video. The jet can be seen rapidly descending from the sky before crashing nose-first into the ground and immediately exploding into a massive fireball.” (11/01/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/private-jet-9-people-board-crashes-just-miles-from-mar-a-lago
- Former US Army contractor charged with leaking military information
Source: United Press International
“A former U.S. government contractor was arrested after allegedly sharing classified military information on social media and stealing night-vision equipment from an Army Special Operations facility, officials said Friday. James Thomas Ashbacher, 37 of Spring Lake, N.C., was arrested Tuesday by the FBI following a federal indictment accusing him of unlawfully transmitting and keeping national defense information. He also faces a charge of stealing government property. Prosecutors said Ashbacher began working in 2021 for a private company that provided security and emergency management services at Fort Bragg. His position gave him access to classified military information through a top-secret security clearance.” (10/31/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/10/31/military-leaked-information-charged/1461793497257/
- MI: El-Sayed’s primary opponent stuns Democrats by endorsing Republican opponent in Senate race
Source: SFGate
“Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed’s former opponent in the U.S. Senate primary, Haley Stevens, stunned party officials Sunday by endorsing Republican Mike Rogers as Democratic tensions boiled over days before the election that could determine the balance of power on Capitol Hill. Stevens endorsed Rogers after attending a Detroit church service with him. The remarkable show of support for the President Donald Trump-backed candidate in the tightly contested race comes after she was uninvited to a joint event the same day with El-Sayed, who defeated the congresswoman by a slim margin in the August primary.” (11/01/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/michigan-democrats-unity-push-falters-as-22505225.php
- Tusk-Nawrocki battle escalates as chief judge is ousted from Poland’s top court
Source: Politico
“Poland’s constitutional court descended into turmoil Friday evening as judges barred from hearing cases moved to oust the institution’s nationalist-linked leadership, sparking accusations of a coup and tense protests. Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, a judge with the court, ordered its president Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy to be suspended for a month and announced she was taking charge. Święczkowski rejected her authority, accusing those involved of a ‘coup d’état,’ while his deputy was turned away at the building’s gates. The showdown marks an escalation in Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s struggle to undo the judicial overhaul carried out by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) former government.” (10/30/26)
- FIREHOSE FRIDAY and Dead Puppy … Er, Annual Fundraiser … Update
Hey, everyone …
It’s a FIREHOSE FRIDAY, with 107-ish news stories, opinion pieces, and audio/video links awaiting your attention at our web edition.
As I mentioned yesterday, we’re “web-only” because my wife, Tamara, had carpal tunnel surgery yesterday. It went well and she’s recovering nicely, but things like that take a chunk out of any work day. Thanks for your understanding.
As I also pointed out yesterday, every day that nobody donates to our annual fundraiser, a cute little puppy dies. Thanks to subscribing contributors JF and IH, and to long-time supporter CH (who opined “Nooo! Not the puppies!”) for their contributions totaling $25.50 — they surely saved a few puppies AND brought our annual fundraiser total up to (as of 5am on Friday) $1,083.50!
Short and sweet: Our goal is $5,503. Once we’ve raised $2,751.50, supporter GL will “match funds” to get us to the finish line. So we are $1,668 short.
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!
I think a reasonable “mini-goal” is to hit the halfway point ($1,375.75) by Monday, with weekend contributions totaling at least $292.25. That URL again:
https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd
Thanks for all you do, and please have a happy, healthy, and prosperous Halloween weekend!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily - Binance Hack Triggers $1.5 Billion in Crypto Liquidations as Bitcoin Falls
Source: CoinCentral
“Binance reported a security breach affecting about $6.3 billion in assets, and suspended deposits and withdrawals. More than $1.5 billion in leveraged crypto bets were forcibly closed in 24 hours, per CoinGlass. Long positions made up about 84% of the liquidations, and Binance handled nearly half the total. Bitcoin dipped to about $76,460 before recovering toward $78,500, and ether traded near $2,240. Tether and Circle froze a combined $2.4 billion in stablecoins tied to the incident.” (10/30/26)
https://coincentral.com/binance-hack-triggers-1-5-billion-in-crypto-liquidations-as-bitcoin-falls/
- Ukraine: Regime Launches First Test Satellite as It Seeks Starlink Alternatives
Source: Defense Post
“Ukraine’s HIMERA and Denmark’s GomSpace have placed a test satellite into orbit for a planned sovereign communications network, as Kyiv seeks to reduce its reliance on SpaceX’s Starlink amid concerns over its dependence on an external provider for critical communications. Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the Transporter-18 mission on October 1, the OBRIA Nano satellite is undergoing technical tests to inform the design of a constellation intended to provide communications coverage across Ukraine and complement European satellite networks. The next phase will involve localizing satellite and ground-terminal production in Ukraine, developing domestic expertise and expanding manufacturing capabilities.” (10/30/26)
https://thedefensepost.com/2026/10/30/ukraine-satellite-starlink-alternatives/
- US initial jobless claims 194k vs 199k expected
Source: investinglive
“US initial jobless claims came in at 194K versus 199K expected, while continuing claims fell to 1.701 million against expectations of 1.720 million. The previous readings were revised to 195K and 1.722 million, respectively. US Jobless Claims measure the number of people filing for unemployment benefits and provide a timely indicator of labour market conditions. Initial claims track new applications and offer insight into layoffs, while continuing claims measure the number of people still receiving benefits, providing clues about how easily unemployed workers find new jobs. The report points to continued labour market resilience, with both initial and continuing claims coming in below expectations.” (10/29/26)
https://investinglive.com/news/us-initial-jobless-claims-194k-vs-199k-expected/
- Ship sinks off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast after being hit by drones
Source: Killeen Daily Herald
“A Liberian-flagged vessel that was hit by drones off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast has sunk, the local maritime administration said Thursday. Three maritime drones struck the container ship Contship Jet about 21 nautical miles off the coast of Bulgaria on Wednesday, Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said. It was the fifth drone attack in the NATO country’s exclusive economic zone this month. The Greek-managed container ship was en route from Israel’s port of Haifa to Constanța in Romania. All 18 crew members, 14 Filipinos and four Ukrainians, were rescued by Bulgarian naval and border police vessels and taken to the port city of Varna for medical checks. … Russia has not taken responsibility for the recent attacks, but suspicion has fallen on Moscow.” (10/29/26)
- MN: Feds, state fraud investigators search autism centers
Source: Minnesota Star Tribune
“Federal and state authorities searched the autism service provider Iska, Inc. and several other sites in Minnesota on Thursday morning. An FBI spokesman said Thursday they are working with a handful of agencies on ‘court-authorized investigative activity.’ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, criminal investigators at the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Postal Inspectors are involved in the investigations, the spokesman said. The FBI declined to provide additional details, citing an active investigation. But a spokesman for the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office said their office was involved with searching Iska on Thursday. The St. Louis Park-based business received more than $16.7 million in Medicaid funds between 2018 and 2025, according to state data.” (10/29/26)
- Sabotage PAC that infiltrated Libertarian Party launches new effort to exploit Massie
Source: Independent Political Report
“The [Republican “infiltrated and neuter” operation] Mises Caucus has launched a political organization called the American Liberty Party, with one of the new group’s first objectives being to recruit Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky to run for president in 2028. The effort was launched Tuesday, October 27, by Mises Caucus founder and former chair Michael Heise, who wrote on X that he had spent the past couple of months reaching out to figures within the America First movement about forming a new political group. Heise said the effort is intended to provide flexibility to support ‘legitimately good’ primary candidates while also building an organization that could direct its limited resources toward areas where they would have the greatest impact.” [editor’s note: If Massie is smart — and he seems to be — he’ll avoid these grifters like the plague – TLK] (10/29/26)
- How Britain Became the Place to Do Business
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Madsen Pirie“There are many phrases of Adam Smith that are well worth echoing today, and one of the most significant is this: ‘The end of all production is consumption.’ It is not to create jobs. The people who talk of new industries creating many new jobs are putting the cart before the horse. The aim of production is not to give people work to do; it is to produce goods and services that people will freely buy because they help improve their lives.” (10/30/26)
https://fee.org/articles/how-britain-became-the-place-to-do-business/
- The Democrats’ “All Trick, No Treat” Strategy
Source: American Greatness
by Thaddeus G McCotter“The gloaming deepened on a Halloween in the early 1970s. A restless gaggle of youths just turned teens pondered making a final stab at trick-or-treating. The problem? They had no costumes, having earlier laughed at how such garb was for little kids, not for them. But now, uncool or not, those costumed kids were getting free candy. They were not. Amid the enveloping darkness, Jack-o’-lanterns flickered and costumed children tittered and flitted from door to door. Time was expiring. What to do? One youth, his face etched with angst, hesitantly floated a trial balloon in the gloaming. ‘Let’s just knock doors like this’. The gaggle eyed one another’s black T-shirts, jeans, and boots. The bald suggestion hung in the air until… Shrugs. Swiftly, pillowcases were pilfered from their unwitting parents and the gaggle’s quest for treats sans costumes commenced. It didn’t go well.” (10/31/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/10/31/the-democrats-all-trick-no-treat-strategy/
- The Boy Who Cried Bear
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“I just returned from a long visit to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Great fun, but there’s a background climate of fear. Wherever you go, you see and hear warnings about bears — and admonitions to carry bear spray. The warnings and admonitions come from official signage, friends, and fellow tourists. Conveniently enough, bear spray is available at virtually every store, for a price of $40 a can. … soon after I bought my bear spray — and spotted our first bear — I decided to confirm the risk. I found much ado about next to nothing. Over the last ten years, Yellowstone saw just 9 bear attacks, with 0 deaths. Grand Teton had 1 bear attack, with 0 deaths.” (10/30/26)
- The Viral Red Baron Employee’s Fundraiser Is A Feel-Bad Story
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“The viral Red Baron Pizza worker and his $500,000 fundraiser is not a feel-good story, it’s a feel-bad story. Everything about it says horrible things about where our society is headed. Some obnoxious prick films a guy working his fingers to the bone for a ‘prank’ hoping to get social media clicks, and the worker flips out at him because his shitty, abusive job had stretched him a hair’s breadth from snapping. The video goes viral because people sympathize with a father shouting at a creepy live-streamer about how his shift was supposed to end an hour ago and he needs to get up at five in the morning to do it all again so his family doesn’t get evicted from the home he’s struggling to pay for, and then a fundraiser is launched which winds up giving the man half a million dollars.” (10/31/26)
- What is Socialism? Don’t Ask Mamdani or Vance
Source: Independent Institute
by Scott A Burns“Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Two socialists walk into a bar. One, a socialist of the more nationalist vintage—a self-styled ‘Heritage American,’ though he dares not utter the dreaded ‘S’ word. The other, a more traditional Marxist, with some critical theory and anti-Zionism sprinkled in for good measure. Both are politicians dripping with smarm. As soon as the two men belly up to the bar, an angry economist approaches them with a question: ‘Why should I vote for either of you bozos?'” (10/30/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/10/30/what-is-socialism-mamdani-vance/
- Default Democrats
Source: The Bleeding Heart Libertarian
by Daniel Shapiro“Why a longtime Libertarian Party voter thinks lovers of liberty should vote Democratic this year.” (10/30/26)
https://bleedingheartlibertarian.substack.com/p/default-democrats
- As the Midterms Wrap Up, One Maine Business Keeps Calm and Carries On
Source: The American Prospect
by Gabrielle Gurley“Heading out early on a brisk, bright Saturday morning, brilliant red, gold, yellow trees shimmered in every direction as Maine’s autumn temperatures recovered from near freezing overnight to warmish. It’s prime fleece season in New England and beyond, but Ben Waxman is losing business. Waxman is a co-owner of American Roots, a small clothing manufacturer, one of the businesses in the Dana Warp Mill, a restored 19th-century textile mill on the banks of the Presumpscot River in Westbrook, a Portland suburb. The firm makes T-shirts, hoodies, and specially designed casual wear, and proclaims its products ‘Union Strong, American Made, Proudly Sewn in Maine’. For months, the outlook has been any anything but robust, since the Trump administration launched a trade war against Canada and a shooting war against Iran.” (10/30/26)
- Christians Grapple With How Their Faith Can Renew Liberal Democracy
Source: The UnPopulist
by Berny Belvedere“Under Donald Trump, much of the American church has gained a political ally at the risk of its soul—Mark 8:36 in concrete form. [Michael] Wear didn’t call MAGA Christianity a disaster for country and faith in so many words, but his diagnosis landed in the same place.” (10/30/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/christians-grapple-with-how-their
- SPOOKY TORTS: The 2026 list of litigation horrors
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“‘Something wicked this way comes.’ Those words from William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ capture the approach of Halloween. For tort litigators, it is welcome news for a holiday that is a mix of slip-and-falls, food liability, and costume defects. Each year, we add to the list of Halloween torts. So let us begin. Last year, a group of people walked past the Fear Factor haunted house run by Murder Beach Productions. Their employee approached the group and asked a girl kid ‘Who is that’ She replied, ‘My Dad, but he’s scared.’ The performer then stated, ‘Watch what I do to him!’ and chased Harrison Wright down the sidewalk until he fell face first on the concrete, resulting in a 2-inch laceration to the head, permanent injuries, post-traumatic headaches, loss of wages and medical bills.” (10/31/26)
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/10/31/spooky-torts-the-2026-list-of-litigation-horrors/
- Your Starbucks Balance Is Working Harder Than You Think
Source: The Daily Economy
by Jeffery L Degner“Gift card and app balances aren’t just waiting to buy your coffee; they’re helping Starbucks grow. Customer loyalty is a surprising source of corporate financing.” (10/30/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/your-starbucks-balance-is-working-harder-than-you-think/
- Buckley’s Truth
Source: Law & Liberty
by Robert P George“William F. Buckley would have smiled at Hankins’[s] description of him as ‘the liberal gentleman.’ Buckley was, of course, the founding father of the modern American conservative movement—a movement whose mission, as he and his co-founders conceived it, was to oppose what had come to be known as “liberalism” in American politics. In the context of the intellectual boxing matches in which Buckley was a star pugilist, ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative’ were antonyms. How, then, does Buckley count, in Hankins’[s] reckoning, as a ‘liberal?’ The answer is that Buckley believed in what has come to be known as ‘liberal education.'” (10/30/26)
- Will we ever learn the truth about Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein?
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Robin Abcarian“More than 3 million pages of the Epstein files have been released, yet millions more remain under DOJ lock and key, subject to lawsuits, redactions and accusations of coverup. With the midterm elections dominating the news, the Iran war far from resolved and Americans suffering from sky-high fuel prices, the Epstein mess has retreated from the public imagination. Yet, this thing is far from over. Sometimes we need a nudge to remember that. Last week, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee breathed new life into the scandal, releasing a 52-page report examining the relationship between President Trump and his onetime pal.” (11/01/26)
- Borders as Technologies of Domination
Source: CounterPunch
by David S D’Amato“The mass-mobility of the modern age was thrust upon the popular masses of people by war and violent dispossession. Within this context, the immigration system has always been used to attack and undermine the truly bottom-up movements of ordinary people. It is used to weaken political radicalism just as it is used to structure the labor market, to determine the bargaining position of workers, to allocate social and economic vulnerability, and to distribute economic power and privilege. So borders are several coercive social systems, not one.” (10/30/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/10/30/borders-as-technologies-of-domination/
- Where Is the Outrage When Islamophobia Comes Straight From the Top?
Source: Common Dreams
by Medea Benjamin“The Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate coming from the highest levels of our government are absolutely outrageous. From President Donald Trump to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to members of Congress, including Sen.Ted Cruz and Rep. Nancy Mace, we are hearing vile, ignorant and dangerous attacks that must be denounced not just by the communities and individuals under attack, but by all of us. When RFK Jr. was campaigning in Michigan for Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, he insulted the entire Arab community worldwide (all 500 million of them), saying that Arabs ‘don’t produce science, they don’t produce literature, and they don’t win Nobel Prizes or other prestigious international awards’. His remarks were not only incredibly racist, but absolutely false.” (10/31/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/outrage-over-islamophobia
- How Harvard changed since end of affirmative action: record breaking Asian admissions
Source: New York Post
by Rikki Schlott“Harvard’s student body is becoming more and more Asian in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision making race-based affirmative action illegal. The most recent class to graduate this past spring was 27.6% Asian. The newly admitted class of 2030 has reached a record high of 43.2% Asian students. The shift represents justice for Asian students and families who, until the Supreme Court overturned race-based affirmative action in 2023, had been unfairly shut out of elite institutions because they didn’t represent the ‘right’ kind of diversity. For years, in the name of ‘racial justice’, America’s premier colleges and universities discriminated against certain teenagers racially. But now meritocracy is on the rebound in academia. In June 2023, the Supreme Court voted 6 to 2 to overturn race based affirmative action after legal strategist Edward Blum and his organization, Students for Fair Admissions, sued Harvard University for allegedly discriminatory admissions practices.” (10/30/26)
- You Know What To Do
Source: The Weekly Dish
by Andrew Sullivan“‘Pretend I’m on the ballot!’ the president insists, as if there is any other Republican on the ballot. It’s been two years of governance without a Congress — the lifeless body effectively passes one bill a year while deferring in every other single respect to the cult leader — so voting for a Republican congressman or senator is, quite simply, a vote for Trump. And an endorsement of his de facto suspension of constitutional balance. So vote for anyone other than a Republican next Tuesday. Or if that’s too compromising for you, don’t vote at all.” (10/30/26)
- Controlling Culture in the Name of Climate Central Planning
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Richard M Ebeling“There are two ways someone can look at the social world in which we all live: with humility or with hubris. The person with humility looks with a degree of wonder and even amazement at how a complex world with over eight billion people can successfully do so much through decentralized decision-making in a web of interconnected global markets and achieve such an astonishing level of economic wellbeing and prosperity for the vast majority of the world’s population. People possessing a high degree of hubris look at that world and are frustrated and upset that so much goes on that they consider unfair, unjust, and irrational in the decisions and choices of so many people in their roles as consumers and producers.” (10/30/26)
- Kentucky’s draft social studies standards need major work
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Richard G Innes“Hopefully, thoughtful Kentuckians will take some time to look at what the state’s kids will, and will not, be learning and chime in. Our students deserve no less.” (10/30/26)
https://www.bluegrassinstitute.org/kentuckys-draft-social-studies-standards/
- The Restoration of the Democratic elites
Source: spiked
by Joel Kotkin“The artless Trump may have used his bully pulpit to attack his opponents, particularly in the media, and forced the academic elite to curb their leftist enthusiasms. Yet in the end, the very forces that have dominated America for decades remain largely intact, despite Trump’s lust for vengeance against those who oppose him.” (10/30/26)
https://www.spiked-online.com/2026/10/30/the-restoration-of-the-democratic-elites/
- The Fed Wanted More Data. It Got More Inflation.
Source: The Daily Economy
by Bryan Cutsinger“New inflation and spending figures suggest the economy is still running too hot for price stability. The Fed’s ‘wait and see’ comes with serious systemic risks.” (10/30/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-fed-wanted-more-data-it-got-more-inflation/
- Empathy for the Red Baron Worker Facing Influencer Harassment
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey“A viral video sparked misplaced anger. Here is why hard work deserves respect.” (10/30/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/empathy-for-the-red-baron-worker
- Three-to-one negative coverage tells the story of network bias
Source: Fox News
by Tim Graham“Watching the broadcast news networks report on campaigns makes you think they’re not creating news as much as they’re trying to make the political weather. On every day, in every way, they labor to place the blackest clouds over the heads of President Donald Trump and the Republicans. Good news is not news. There is no balance of good and bad. Any hint of neutrality is despised as ‘normalizing’ Trump. Nonpartisanship somehow becomes partisanship. So, resistance against Trump is the norm. A Media Research Center study of the 2024 campaign from July 21 through Oct. 25 found ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts punished Trump with 85% negative coverage. Meanwhile, the Democrat nominee, Kamala Harris, received 78% positive coverage. One choice sounded like doom, and the other was painted as hope and joy and ‘vibes’. With that kind of stark difference in tone, does that sound like news or campaign advertising?” (10/31/26)
- Happy Halloween, Traders!
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman“It’s the Halloween season, the perfect occasion to introduce your young children and grandchildren to the wonders of the market economy. After all, the market is a process in which individuals strive mutually to improve their situations through trade—that is, lucrative peaceful cooperation. (Today we’ll ignore all the ways politicians and bureaucrats get in the way.)” (10/30/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-happy-halloween-traders-d94
- America’s Deadly Addiction to War
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano“America has a deadly addiction to war. Since 1950, presidents of both political parties have sent American troops into conflicts across the globe, killed countless people, sacrificed the lives and limbs of American servicemen and women, and wasted trillions of dollars. Yet these wars have consistently failed to achieve the objectives proclaimed when the killing began.” (10/30/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/10/29/americas-deadly-addiction-to-war
- Washington Irving’s American Ghost
Source; Law & Liberty
by Michael Lucchese“‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ shows a young nation wrestling with its nightmares.” (10/30/26)
- How to Bring Down an Empire: Benjamin Franklin’s Forgotten Rules
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Michael Boldin“Benjamin Franklin knew the pattern all through history: Collapse is self-inflicted. In 1773, he wrote a masterpiece of biting satire detailing 20 rules for how a great empire destroys itself from within. The formula is simple: make the government so detestable that the people want secession at any cost. It was supposed to be a warning, but the British ignored it and learned their lesson the hard way. Read his rules and judge for yourself. Is this just another history lesson? Or is it an instruction manual still being followed by the empire we live under today?” (10/30/26)
- Douglas Murray and the ‘Four Horsemen of New Zionism’
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Brandt Burleson“Perhaps you’re old enough to recall the New Atheist movement and the ‘Four Horsemen of New Atheism,’ a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Christian eschatology, or theology of the end times. Inspired by this quartet, I have been cataloging the ‘Four Horsemen of New Zionism,’ focusing on pivotal commentators and propagandists devoted to contemporary Israel and all the destruction that comes with it.” (10/30/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/douglas-murray-and-the-four-horsemen-of-new-zionism
- The Fusion of Commercial Civilization
Source: EconLog
by Richard M Reinsch II“[Samuel] Gregg’s case differs from a standard account that roots the contemporary West in Athens, Jerusalem, and Rome. He doesn’t deny that the civilizations of these cities have made decisive and salutary contributions to the Western mind, but Edinburgh’s addition makes a tremendous difference for understanding commercial society and, I would add, the constitutional state that fosters it. The crucial import here is that much of the modern West incorporated the ideas and habits of mind of the French and German Enlightenments rather than the Scottish Enlightenment. And, over the centuries, it’s the former enlightenments that have come to dominate the West’s thinking and discourse, to its detriment.” (10/30/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/the-fusion-of-commercial-civilization
- Against Efficiency
Source: In These Times
by Hamilton Nolan“For all of our complaints about the dangers of corporate power, we sometimes fail to stop and marvel at just how good corporations are at what they do. They are incredibly adept at organizing the world in the most efficient way to serve their own interests. If we’re being honest with ourselves, we should acknowledge the extent to which growing corporate power is inevitable if we allow our political and economic battles to play out as a contest of efficiency and optimization. The only way for humanity to win is to play by different rules. The battle between corporations and people, capital and labor, is not new. But if you have the sense that the imbalance between the sides has been getting worse, you are verifiably correct. Wealth inequality has been growing for decades, and the richest of the rich are increasingly separating themselves from everyone else.” (10/29/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/against-efficiency-corperations-rich-poor-99-percent
- A Bold Proposal: Iran Should Join the Mecca Alliance
Source: The American Conservative
by Eldar Mamedov“Given that the regime in Tehran shows few if any signs of crumbling even under extreme military and economic pressure, it should be clear that perpetual enmity offers diminishing returns. Accommodation is the only viable path forward. The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan seem to realize that. A regional nonaggression arrangement was reportedly discussed in the meeting in Tehran—the kind of common-sense diplomatic proposal that is both necessary and long overdue.” (10/30/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/a-bold-proposal-iran-should-join-the-mecca-pact/
- The Trouble with Hans-Hermann Hoppe
Source: The Bleeding Heart Libertarian
by Matt Zwolinski“Among some young libertarians, especially online and in radical anarcho-capitalist circles, Hoppe is venerated. … Outside the Rothbardian and Austrian circles where he made his reputation, though, Hoppe’s name is largely unknown. Most mainstream political philosophers have never heard of him, and those who have rarely engage with his work. His admirers say that’s because the academy is a left-wing monoculture afraid of him. But there’s a better, simpler explanation. Hoppe’s central philosophical arguments just aren’t very good. In particular, ‘argumentation ethics’ doesn’t come close to justifying libertarian rights. And even if it did, it wouldn’t do anything to justify the politics of exclusion he attaches to them.” (10/29/26)
https://bleedingheartlibertarian.substack.com/p/the-trouble-with-hans-hermann-hoppe
- Who Put Tariffs in My ($20!) Burrito?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Caleb S Fuller & Scott Burns“From aluminum wrappers to beef, cheese, and tomatoes, Washington has found a way to make every bite more expensive. ‘TACOs’ shouldn’t cost so much.” (10/29/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/who-put-tariffs-in-my-20-burrito/
- A Democratic Congress Should Make It Its Business to Expose Trump’s Patronage Machine
Source: The UnPopulist
by Robert Tracinski“Democratic candidates spent much of the midterm campaign talking themselves into a false choice over whether to focus on ‘affordability’ or on the abuse of executive power. Yet in its final days, the election has come to center on an issue that combines the two: the spectacular corruption of the Trump administration. Many Democrats are adopting this as a closing message on the campaign trail …. This election’s focus on corruption has been encouraged by a series of late-breaking revelations about the sheer scale and brazenness of the cash grabs by Trump and his appointees.” (10/29/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/a-democratic-congress-should-make
- The Invisible Shackle: How Bureaucracy Stifles the Economy and Constrains Our Freedom
Source: EconLog
by Saray Levy-Carciente“For millions of entrepreneurs, the greatest barrier to generating wealth is no longer market competition but the relentless expansion of regulations and administrative procedures. While governance is ostensibly designed to ensure order, modern bureaucracy has morphed into a formidable ‘invisible shackle.’ Rather than functioning as a neutral tool of oversight, excessive red tape treats a citizen’s inherent right to produce as a conditional concession granted by the state through endless, discretionary hurdles.” (10/29/26)
- Whether Bibi Stays or Goes, the “Special Relationship” Must End
Source: The American Conservative
by Luke Nicastro“Because of what it reveals about Israel’s trajectory, the election presents an opportune moment to reassess the U.S.-Israel relationship. The conditions that led the Israeli government to successfully push for the Iran War, and for all of the other deleterious fruits of the partnership—the military aid (both direct and indirect), the integration of our respective national security establishments, the continued commitment of U.S. resources to a theater increasingly peripheral to our grand strategy, the diplomatic cover for war crimes—are structural in nature. No plausible change from within Israeli society is going to end them.” (10/29/26)
- Romina Boccia on Freedom Works with Paul Molloy
Source: Freedom Works
“The Unseen Factor Driving Social Security Problems.” (10/31/26)
https://internetradiopros.com/freedomworks/?name=2026-10-31_zfw10262026.mp3
- The Good Fight, 10/31/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Dan Williams on Why AI (Probably) Won’t Kill Us.” (10/31/26)
- The Mona Charen Show, 10/31/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Elon Musk’s DOGE Was a Colossal Con Job (w/ Max Stier).” (10/31/26)
- The Fifth Column, episode 581
Source: The Fifth Column
“A Socialist Walks Into The Fifth Column (w/ Bhaskar Sunkara).” (10/30/260
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/a-socialist-walks-into-the-fifth
- Nonzerio, 10/30/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“Is an AI Bubble Bursting? | Robert Wright & Liron Shapira.” (10/30/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 10/30/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Can the upcoming elections turn the economy around?” (10/30/26)
- Reasonably Optimistic, 10/30/26
Source: Washington Post
“How AI went from fringe idea to unstoppable force.” (10/30/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/how-ai-went-from-fringe-idea-to-unstoppable-force/
- Patrick Pillow on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Scott interviews Patrick Pillow about the series he just started publishing on the regime change in Egypt in 2011.” (10/30/26)
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 10/30/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Rages as Leaks Reveal How Aides Soothe Him With Midterm Hopium.” (10/30/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/217353/trump-rages-leaks-reveal-aides-soothe-midterm-hopium
- The Tom Woods Show, episode 2809
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“The Inflation Isn’t Going to Stop: What to Do.” (10/30/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2809-the-inflation-isnt-going-to-stop-what-to-do/
- Galaxy Brain, 10/30/26
Source: The Atlantic
“The Internet Might Need to Be Rebuilt From Scratch.” (10/30/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/10/is-it-time-to-rebuild-the-internet/689218
- Freakonomics Radio, episode 693
Source: Freakonomics
“What’s Our Job as Humans Anymore?” (10/30/26)
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/whats-our-job-as-humans-anymore/
- The Dispatch Podcast, 10/30/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Democrats Play Dirty in Alaska.” (10/30/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/dispatch-podcast/democrats-play-dirty-in-alaska/
- The Anarchist Experience, episode 604
Source: The Anarchist Experience
“Rich & Riley talk about The Libertarian who had a shoot out with Police, and why this lead to the Age of Consent discussion, and how Libertarians seem to be unaware of the Streisand Effect.” (10/30/26)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2026/10/30/the-anarchist-experience-604/
- The Political Orphanage, 10/29/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Why Did We Close the Asylums?” (10/29/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/why-did-we-close-the-asylums
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 10/29/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“The Midterm DOJ Hunger Games – US v. Alaska.” (10/29/26)
- Libertarian Angle, 10/29/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“The Horrors and Fallacies of Socialism.” (10/29/26)
- Nonzero, 10/29/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“Is Nathan Fielder a Creep? | Robert Wright & Paul Bloom.” (10/29/26)
- Politics Politics Politics, 10/29/26
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“My FINAL Midterm Predictions: Blue Wave, or Blue Tsunami? (with Reese Gorman).” (10/28/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/my-final-midterm-predictions-blue
- Underthrow Podcast, 10/29/26
Source: Underthrow
“We Must Become a Hybrid of Jesus and Nietzsche.” (10/29/26)